Jessica Hepburn

Jessica Hepburn is an award-winning author, adventurer, fertility activist, and pioneering arts producer whose personal story and professional achievements make her a captivating and inspirational mental health speaker. She became the first woman in the world to complete the Sea, Street, Summit Challenge – swimming the English Channel, running the London Marathon, and summiting Mount Everest in 2022. This, paired with a career spanning theatre leadership, creative innovation, and extraordinary physical feats, Jessica’s voice resonates deeply with audiences navigating the complexities of mental well-being, loss, and emotional and physical resilience.

Her early work with Northern Stage and Brighton Festival laid foundations for her commitment to storytelling, the arts, and community impact. As former Executive Director of the Lyric Hammersmith, she led a £20 million redevelopment of the theatre, earning a nomination for Theatre Manager of the Year. However, Jessica’s journey into mental health advocacy began with profound personal struggles. She underwent eleven rounds of IVF, experienced multiple miscarriages, and survived an ectopic pregnancy – an emotional and gruelling physical toll that shaped her first and Amazon bestselling book, ‘The Pursuit of Motherhood’. Through her candid narrative, she breaks the silence around infertility, igniting a national conversation about reproductive health and the psychological challenges it brings.

She co-founded Fertility Fest in 2016, the world’s first arts festival dedicated to fertility, infertility, and modern families. This pioneering platform fostered open dialogue between the arts and medical science, offering solidarity and support for those facing similar struggles. Her commitment to creating inclusive, empathetic spaces earned her the Fertility Foundation’s Fertility Hero Award and recognition as a ‘Woman of Suffragette Spirit’ by Amnesty International.

In recent years, Jessica has transformed grief into purpose through physical endurance. These remarkable achievements underscore her belief in ‘adventure as therapy’, a central theme in her following books ‘21 Miles’ and ‘Save Me from the Waves’, the latter of which was named Stanford’s Travel ‘Book of the Month’ in 2024. Jessica’s speaker topics — from infertility and IVF to living big and brave and redefining success — make her an invaluable voice in mental health advocacy. Her lived experience, creative insight, and fearless vulnerability inspire audiences to embrace courage, confront adversity, and prioritize mental well-being in every stage of life.